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The Five Star Movement has signaled for the first time that it would prefer the Democratic Party over La Lega in a possible governing coalition. Italy has been without a government since its election last month.

Five Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio called on his Democratic Party (PD) rivals to "bury the hatchet" and consider a governing coalition with his party. Di Maio made the overture in an interview with newspaper La Repubblica, published on Saturday.

Italy has found itself in a political deadlock, after the results of the March 4 general elections yielded no clear winner and no obvious path to the formation of a new government.

Last week, President Sergio Mattarella led the first round of talks with political leaders to try to resolve the issue, but no solution was found.

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Coalition talks kick off in Italy

Coalition talks kick off in Italy

Di Maio appeals to "sense of responsibility"

The leader of M5S said to La Repubblica that he believed there exist "many more points of agreement than one may think," between his party and the PD, despite the fact that the two parties have been bitter foes.

Di Maio expressed a willingness to stop the fighting, suggesting that both parties should sit at the negotiation table to "reason and find a project together that can provide solutions."

"I think that now a sense of responsibility towards the country should force us all, nobody excluded, to bury the hatchet," Di Maio added.

The immediate response of PD's interim leader Maurizio Martina was unwelcoming, declaring that his party should "faithfully and coherently" stick to its decision to remain in opposition. But outgoing Culture Minister and former PD leader Dario Franceschini expressed openness, writing on Twitter that the party needed "to reflect" on the "political news" that Di Maio's interview represented.

The M5S leader's overture to PD comes at the heels of an offer by the leader of the right-wing La Lega (the League), Matteo Salvini, to govern with the M5S. But Salvini imposed the condition that League ally Forza Italia, led by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, must also take part.

Di Maio refused the deal, saying Salvini was "choosing restoration instead of revolution" because "Berlusconi represents the past." He added that his movement was "not interested in remaining stuck or in looking to the past, we want to look to the future."

Salvini commented on the interview via his Facebook page saying "Mamma Mia," or 'oh my God.' The League leader wrote to his followers that either "a new government is born" or new elections must be called, which he said his party would "win hands down."

In the event of a new election, opinion polls show a high risk of the same deadlocked result occurring again.

He's back, and this time he's a vegetarian

Last Easter, in an attempt to soften his image as he eyed a return to poltics, Berlusconi took part in an ad promoting vegetarianism that featured him snuggling lambs in soft lighting overlaid with easy listening music. Although Berlusconi is barred from seeking office for another year due to a fraud convinction, a bloc led by his Forza Italia party has been polling strongly.

'No one will marry you'

Berlusconi is well known for offensive remarks and belittling women, so it's no surprise he did both in one go on the campaign trail. Earlier in February, he told a BBC journalist that her handshake was too manly; "Otherwise men will think, this one is going to beat me up, and no one will marry you."

Win (a date with) Salvini!

Matteo Salvini of the far-right Northern League came up with a humble publicity stunt – whoever likes his Facebook posts can win a chance to take a picture with "the captain", talk to him on the phone, or meet in private. He was lambasted on social media and by Italy's La Repubblica daily, which wrote: "The captain? Even Silvio Berlusconi in his golden age would envy this kind of self-regard."

Think about it!

If ex-PM Matteo Renzi was hoping to make a big splash with this tepid ad in which — surprise! — he shows up on a bike and tells a family to "think about" voting for him, then he was certainly successful. Just not perhaps in the way he wanted. The staggeringly lackluster TV spot was parodied countless times on social media.

Just us kids

Luigi di Maio of Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) has repeatedly used his age of only 31 to try and connect with younger voters and is prolific on social media. One of his most cringe-worthy attempts to relate to millennial voters came in a video he posted to Instagram in which he said M5S would make Italy "fly high," before "flying" himself in an entertainment complex.

Pope: Fake news is like being aroused by feces

After the US election, the Pope warned about the spread of fake news in Italy and its undue influence. He called untrue, sensational stories "the greatest damage the media can do," in an interview with the Catholic weekly Tertio. "I think the media...must not fall into – no offense intended – the sickness of coprophilia," he said, using a more polite term for an abnormal interest in faeces.

Prime Minister Oliver?

Comedian and pundit John Oliver brought the tumultous Italian election to the attention of a wider audience in one of his famous TV segments, skewering Berlusconi. Oliver's solution to Italy's unwieldy democracy? Encouraging Italian lawmakers to appoint him: "Incredibly, I am far from your worst option," he joked while cuddling a lamb.